Patience at the plate helps set up hitters' counts, when a player can zero in on a specific pitch or location. The most patient hitters tend to go 3-2 in the count more often, and a number of them have been especially successful after the count goes full.

After Saturday's games, 45 major leaguers have seen 70 or more full counts in 2008. Five of them have reached 3-2 at least 100 times:

Most 3-2 Counts, 2008

Hanley Ramirez, Fla. . . 115
Jack Cust, Oak. . . . . . 108
Nick Swisher, CWS. . . .105
B.J. Upton, TB. . . . . . 103
Adam Dunn, Cin-Ari. . . 100

Among those 45 players with 70-plus 3-2 counts this season, B.J. Upton and Adam Dunn also rank among the leaders in batting and slugging, respectively. Dunn tops the majors with 18 RBIs in 3-2 situations. Here are the batting and slugging leaders in 3-2 counts:

AVG & SLG Leaders in 3-2 Counts, 2008
(minimum 70 PA in 3-2 situations, through Saturday)

Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AVG. . . . . . . .Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SLG
Brian Roberts, Bal. . . . . . . . .356. . . . . . . . Mark Reynolds, Ari. . . . . . . . . . .717
Akinori Iwamura, TB. . . . . . . .333. . . . . . . .Pat Burrell, Phi. . . . . . . . . . . . . .692
B.J. Upton, TB. . . . . . . . . . .298. . . . . . . .David Wright, NYM. . . . . . . . . . . .634
David Wright, NYM. . . . . . . . .293. . . . . . . Geovany Soto, ChC. . . . . . . . . . . .617
Aramis Ramirez, ChC. . . . . . .286. . . . . . . .Jim Thome, CWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . .591
Mark Reynolds, Ari. . . . . . . .283. . . . . . . .Adam Dunn, Cin-Ari. . . . . . . . . . . .576

Another player who has turned 3-2 counts into a hitter-friendly scenario is Arizona's Mark Reynolds, who has powered 10 extra-base hits in 53 at-bats -- including six doubles and three home runs -- and has slugged a major league-high .717 in those situations. He's also drawn 21 walks.

White Sox slugger Jim Thome is batting just .197 in his 98 plate appearances that have gone 3-2, but he has a 1.050 OPS by virtue of stroking eight home runs and drawing 31 walks.

Through Saturday, Jack Cust (46 walks), Upton (44) and Dunn (38) have drawn the most walks in 3-2 situations. Let's take their knowledge of the strike zone a step further. Here are the leaders in walk-strikeout ratio among players with 40 or more walks and strikeouts combined in 3-2 counts.

Highest BB-K Ratio after 3-2 Count, 2008
(minimum 40 BB & K combined, through Saturday)

Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PA. . . . . . BB-K
Carlos Quentin, CWS. . . . . . . . . .67. . . . . 3.00 (30/10)
B.J. Upton, TB. . . . . . . . . . . . . 103. . . . . 2.93 (44/15)
David Wright, NYM. . . . . . . . . . . 78. . . . . 2.64 (37/14)
Gregor Blanco, Atl. . . . . . . . . . . 74. . . . . 2.21 (31/14)
Troy Glaus, StL. . . . . . . . . . . . . 75. . . . . 2.15 (28/13)
J.D. Drew, Bos. . . . . . . . . . . . . .84. . . . . 2.13 (34/16)

There's Upton on another 3-2 leader board. Also noteworthy for his 3-2 production is Mets third baseman David Wright, who has four home runs and 37 walks in those situations. Based on his .628 OBP and .634 slugging, Wright has a 1.262 OPS, the best 3-2 mark in the National League.

Patience at the plate has been a key part of Carlos Quentin's breakout season with the White Sox. He's fanned just 10 times in 67 plate appearances that have gone 3-2. His 30 walks give him a .582 OBP in 3-2 counts.

Although Quentin hasn't delivered any of his AL-leading 32 home runs on a 3-2 pitch, teammate Thome has countered with a major league-high eight bombs with the count full.